A Comparative Study On Shen Congwen And D.H.Lawrence’s Writing Of The Value Of Life

This dissertation compares Shen Congwen and Lawrence’s writing of the valueof life in the background of their international and national culture. It intends tointerpret the meaning of their literary works in the specific context of time andcultural heritage. The dissertation broadens the view of study on Shen and Lawrence.In the west, the modern civilization transition lasted hundreds of years. From theend of19thcentury to the beginning of20thcentury, the West stepped to the maturestage of industrialization. During the time, Christian value system was overturned,and the subjectivity of human being was established. Man started to extract the nature.The development of industry and advancement of cilvilization benefited men.Nevertheless, they also brought about spiritual crises which stimulated people toexplore the value of life in a non-religious way and to reflect rationalism as well ascivilization. Just in such a situation, Shen and Lawrence started their writing on thevalue of life. They shared some philosophical ideas, and at the same time, wereinfluenced respectively by their own national cultures.Rousseau’s primatism and19thcentury philosophy of life foster Shen andLawrence’s view of life. In18thcentury Rousseau reflected civilization by comparingprimitive men and civilized men. He concluded that primitive men were more happy.Rousseau set up a mode for irrational reflection of civilization. Then, both Shen andLawrence accepted it.19thcentury philosophy of life is also important to Shen andLawrence. They took Schopenhauer’s free will as their basic knowledge of life.Lawrence applaused at Nietzsche’s individualistic heroism and the will to power.Shen was encouraged by Niezsche’s advocate of reevaluating all values, but herefused hero worship.He believed in people and democracy. Freud showed his impacton Shen and Lawrence with his theories of libido and psycho-analysis.The collectivism of Confucianism, Taoism’s view of life and death as well as itslove of beauty are important national cultural legacy to Shen’s interpretion of the value of life. While, individualism is the western tradition shaping Lawrence’sindividual perspective of life.The dissertation also compares the two writers by checking their interpretationsof life related to nature, morality and self.Both Shen and Lawrence praise the enthusiasm and vigor of the natural whilecriticizing the impotence and meaness of the civilized. Lawrence thinks that industrytwsists human nature and money-orientated value system makes life dull. Shen singsfor the vigor and perseverence of the natural men, but he shows his regrets for theirignorance and spiritual blindness. Facing primitive religion, Lawrence expects that itcan rescue human being from being spitually destroyed by industry. Meanwhile, Shensees beauty in religious belife and its ceremonies. He wishes that he were able to plantlove of beauty in the heart of Chinese people to take the place of religion.Both Shen and Lawrence try to expoud the nature of life in the view of death.Shen believes in Taoism’s interpretaion that life and death are one, so he insists ontaking it easy. Lawrence learns his lesson in the story of phoenix and the Resurrection,therefore believes that life will restart in the ashe of death. Both Shen and Lawrencebalance life and death in irrational ideas.On ethical problems, Lawrence curses that reason and civilization scaffleperception. Shen criticizes the ignorance of traditional morality and the cruelty of theso-called moralists. He also shows his sympathy with prostitutes made by poverty andperverted people who are too indulged in love. They both agree that morality shoulddevelop as time passes. They think that it is important to be natural and honest whenin love. However, Lawrence intends to attack reason and mechanism while Shen triesto slash impotence and hypocrisy. Besides showing respect to love, Shen still hopes toexpress his will of reconstructing national morality by deliberate presentation of vigorand honest love. The different persuits of the writers reflect the different dominantconflicts in their nations.Both Shen and Lawrence are poetic in depicting sex. Shen avoids specificdescription of sex by hinting and keeping empty of which technique is frequentlyemployed in ancient Chinese paintings. It not only embodies the implicit beauty of Chinese culture, it also indicates that the writer rationally conforms to readers’ senseof morality. Meanwhile, Lawrence challenges readers’ morality by indulging in thegreat details of sensuality. His irrational boldness is a symbol of the romantic featureof western culture.Facing self, both Lawrence and Shen would keep their own independence ofthinking. Lawrence’s interpretation of self is the consequence of western approach ofrational analysis leading to the ontology of life. However, Shen stopps at expressingand holding his will of independent thinking.Lawrence’s social self passively surrenders to social duty. If possible, he wouldrather always keep his free will. Therefore, the character signifing himself in hiswriting is frequently troubled with and suffers from constant contradictions.Lawrence’s recognition of self is the result of western individualism. While, Shen’ssocial self is a rational choice to melt one’s own self to the need of the society whichis the fruit of the national collective culture and the contemporary social atmosphereof salvation of the nation. Shen’s self mainly keeps accordance to the self restrainedby social duty. It indicates that his recogition of self is dominated by ration.The interpretation of the value of life by the two writers may symbolize thedifferent ways of recognition and temperament of the two nations as well as theeastern and western worlds. However, except for their differences, both of the twowriters show their courage to persistantly reflect on human actions, unrimittent pursuitof value of life and exubrant expectation of an ideal world. It is impossible to definethe features of their complex ideas by rational or irrational. They are the dreamers ofan idealized beautiful world in the reality. They express their dreams in an irrationalway while observing the world with rational mind.